Al-Raya Newspaper: What a Difference Between the Istanbul Statement and the Previous Fatwas!
September 09, 2025

Al-Raya Newspaper: What a Difference Between the Istanbul Statement and the Previous Fatwas!

Al Raya sahafa

2025-09-10

Al-Raya Newspaper: What a Difference Between the Istanbul Statement

and the Previous Fatwas!

At the conclusion of their conference, which they called "Gaza is an Islamic and Humanitarian Responsibility," held in Istanbul over six days, the scholars gathered as guests of Erdogan issued a final statement. They opened it with verses of preparation and Jihad in the path of God, so that the reader would think that the subsequent paragraphs and decisions would be nothing but a practical statement of how to immediately engage in a Jihad that would not only relieve Gaza but also liberate Palestine and Al-Aqsa Mosque. However, the reality was different, as the resolutions, recommendations, and calls came as if they were written in the language of the international system, in accordance with international law, and in accordance with what the regimes loyal to America and the West utter, and in what can be described as a pathetic attempt to wash away the shame of the rulers, especially Erdogan, after their failure and collusion in supporting Gaza, and after imprisoning the Ummah by every means from fulfilling its duty.

We are not slandering these scholars when we say that we do not know which is more dangerous: what came in the Istanbul statement or what was absent from it?! To clarify this, we will, by analogy, make a simple, quick comparison here between what came in the Istanbul statement and what came before it in fatwas, specifically since the Al-Aqsa Flood operation, i.e., over the last two years, and we will call them "previous fatwas" for short. These are fatwas documented by their bodies, scholars, and dates of issuance, and they have been published and documented and can be referred to. This is a fair comparison: in contrast to the Istanbul statement issued by the scholars, these are also fatwas issued by scholars, but based on which different positions and actions are built from what can be built on the Istanbul statement.

As for the previous fatwas, whether they came on the initiative of the scholars or in response to the calls and appeals for help from the people of Gaza and its Mujahideen, who addressed the Ummah, its armies, and its scholars to engage in the Flood battle to be a battle of complete liberation, those previous fatwas came, based on what is in the Book of God Almighty and the Sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ, to stipulate the obligation of moving the armies in Jihad in the path of God to liberate Palestine completely, and that this obligation is obligatory on the Ummah of Muslims all, and that the armies are the most worthy of it because of the weapons and strength in their hands and the trained soldiers in their ranks. The scholars' fatwas stipulated the prohibition of soldiers obeying their leaders in refraining from that, and some fatwas stipulated the obligation of revolting against the rulers because of their proven collusion, failure, and imprisonment of the Ummah from supporting Gaza and liberating Palestine. The fatwas stipulated that what the rulers and their aides do of collusion and failure necessitates the wrath of God and His punishment in this world and the hereafter, and that this nullifies the bonds of loyalty and disavowal. The scholars called on the Ummah to storm the obstacles by storming and Jihad in the path of God in support of Gaza and its people and not to wait for permission from the rulers, and stipulated that the calls directed from the scholars to the regimes and rulers are only by way of excuse to God and that the rulers will not do anything after all this collusion. This is in addition to what those fatwas included of words of truth that make the bodies of the believers shiver, such as the fact that the Ummah and its scholars cannot bear to stand before God Almighty on the Day of Resurrection as adversaries to the people of Gaza, the Mujahideen and the steadfast, and that death is easier for them than this dispute.

With a quick, brief look, the actions that are based on the previous fatwas push the Ummah to break its chains, get rid of its rulers, regain control of its strength and armies, and march to fulfill its duty and carry out the obligation of its Lord until the liberation of all of Palestine, despite the noses of the regimes and their aides.

As for the Istanbul statement, it was devoid of all these calls: it did not call for moving armies, nor for marching, nor for breaking the Ummah's chains from its rulers, nor did it even call for the liberation of Palestine! Instead of all that, it adopted Erdogan's calls to form an Islamic alliance that he described as "humanitarian" and defined its goal as "stopping the aggression and prosecuting the criminals"! The Istanbul statement, which opened with mentioning "international silence and regional collusion," went on to direct calls to the colluding countries of the world and the countries existing in Muslim lands, and called for the necessity of communicating with them in order to pressure them to take positions, and also called for a global rights and parliamentary alliance, and called on Christian institutions, especially the Pope of the Vatican, and even called on Jewish institutions to save Gaza!!! It called for activating the decisions of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, instead of applying God's law and His judgment to those who fight Muslims and usurp their land.

As for the Muslims, the Istanbul statement limited their duty to allocating donations and half of next year's Zakat to relieve Gaza and rebuild it after the end of the war instead of calling for declaring a war of liberation, and when it talked about lifting the siege, it limited the call to the available means, including supporting the Freedom Flotilla with ships instead of calling for launching military fleets and armies.

The Istanbul statement linked Islamic law with international law as a reference when calling for cutting relations with the Jewish entity instead of calling for eradicating the malignant tumor. Then, after that, it emphasized the sanctity of the idol of nationalism when it held the responsibility for confronting the plans of "Greater Israel" exclusively to the targeted countries.

Then the Istanbul statement concluded with a false testimony before the eyes of the world, with thanks and gratitude to Erdogan, describing his government as wise.

With this brief review, it becomes clear the actions that can be based on the Istanbul statement, which do not go beyond collecting donations and directing calls to the enemies to stop the war, and above that, it acquits the rulers and regimes of the crime of collusion and failure and makes the implementation of its decisions and calls entrusted to these rulers despite the brightness of the truth of their conspiracy and collusion.

It was worthy of the "scholars of Istanbul" affiliated with the International Union of Muslim Scholars and the Waqf of Islamic Scholars in Turkey who gathered by the hundreds at Erdogan's table to have practical positions that make the entire Ummah and its armies engage in immediate action that does not only lead to relieving Gaza and stopping the war but also to liberating all of the land of Palestine. It was worthy of them to have their positions calling for people and soldiers to leave their jobs when the media broadcasts their statements in anticipation of hearing the practical directions that they will direct the Ummah to, and it was worthy of them to make the world hold its breath and make all the infidels tremble just by mentioning their meeting, but, alas, they refused to be worthy of that!

Finally, the two questions that should be asked in light of these outputs of the Istanbul conference are: Was this conference really held to support Gaza? Or was it held to try to abort any significant action that can be based on the previous fatwas of the scholars?

After the Istanbul statement, what do you want our vile enemy to understand from us? More killing, destruction, body parts, and displacement? Will they understand anything other than that this is the most that the Ummah of two billion can do or even think about?!

By: Professor Abdullah Hamad Al-Wadi - The Blessed Land (Palestine)

Source: Al-Raya Newspaper

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Ar-Raya Newspaper: Ar-Raya Miscellany – Issue 573

Al Raya sahafa

2025-11-12

Ar-Raya Newspaper:Ar-Raya Miscellany – Issue 573

O people of Sudan: How long will the conflict in Sudan and elsewhere remain fuel for international ambitions and their struggle with their malicious plans, interventions, and supplying the conflicting parties with weapons to completely control it?! Your women and children have been suffering for more than two years from this bloody conflict that only serves the interests of the West and its allies in controlling the fate of Sudan, which has always been coveted for its location and wealth, so it is in their interest to tear it apart and fragment it. The Rapid Support Forces' seizure of Al-Fashir is just another episode in these plans, as America wants to carve out the Darfur region and concentrate its influence in Sudan and eliminate British influence in it.

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The Goal of Ortagus' Visit

to Lebanon!

In light of the American offensive against Lebanon and the region with the project of normalization and surrender, and the US administration's endeavor under Trump and his team to bring more rulers of Muslim countries into the Abraham Accords, the visit of the American envoy Morgan Ortagus to Lebanon and the usurping Jewish entity comes, loaded with political, security, and economic pressures, threats, and conditions on Lebanon, noting that this visit coincided with the visit of the Secretary-General of the Arab League and the Director of Egyptian Intelligence, apparently to serve the same direction.

In response to these visits, a media statement from the Media Office of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Wilayah Lebanon affirmed the following:

First: The interventions of America and its followers in Muslim countries are to serve the interests of America and the Jewish entity, not to serve our interests, especially since America is the first supporter of the Jewish entity in politics, economy, finance, weapons, and media, openly and publicly.

Second: The envoy's visit is not a neutral visit, as some may imagine! Rather, it comes in the context of a clear American policy in the region that supports the Jewish entity and contributes to enabling it militarily and politically, and what the American envoy offers is only an imposition of hegemony, a consecration of subservience, and a diminution of sovereignty, which is a form of surrender and submission to the Jews, and this is what God refuses for the people of Islam.

Third: Accepting these dictates and signing any agreements that consecrate foreign tutelage is a betrayal of God, His Messenger, the Ummah, and everyone who fought or sacrificed to remove this usurping entity from Lebanon and Palestine.

Fourth: Dealing with the Jewish entity is a crime in the legal sense for the vast majority of the people of Lebanon, Muslims and non-Muslims, even in the positive law to which the Lebanese authority resorts, or human law in general, especially after the criminal entity committed genocide in Gaza, which it has not and will not hesitate to do in Lebanon and other Muslim countries.

Fifth: The American campaign and offensive on the region will not pass, and America will not succeed in its endeavor to shape the region as it desires, and if it has its project for the region, which is based on colonialism, plundering peoples, misleading Muslims, and even taking them out of their religion by calling for the (Abrahamic religion), then Muslims, in return, have their project promised by God Almighty; the project of the Second Khilafah according to the method of Prophethood, which has become very close, God willing, and this project is the one that will redraw the region, and even the entire world, anew, in fulfillment of the saying of the Messenger ﷺ: "Indeed, God showed me the earth, and I saw its east and its west, and my nation will reach what was shown to me of it." Narrated by Muslim, and the Jewish entity will be eliminated as the Messenger of God ﷺ foretold in his hadith: "The Hour will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and the Muslims kill them..." Agreed upon.

In conclusion, Hizb ut-Tahrir/ Wilayah Lebanon continues to adopt the task of repelling America's campaign and offensive of normalization and surrender on Lebanon and the region, and nothing will deter it from doing so, and we warn the Lebanese authority against following the path of normalization and surrender! And we call on it to seek refuge in its people to confront that, and not to play around with the matter under the pretext of borders or reconstruction and the influence of the international system, ﴿And Allah is predominant over His affair, but most people do not know.﴾.

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A Delegation from Hizb ut-Tahrir/ Wilayah Sudan

Meets with a Number of Dignitaries from the City of Al-Ubayyid

A delegation from Hizb ut-Tahrir/ Wilayah Sudan, on Monday, November 3, 2025, visited a number of dignitaries from the city of Al-Ubayyid, the capital of North Kordofan. The delegation was led by Professor Al-Nazeer Muhammad Hussein Abu Minhaj, a member of the Hizb ut-Tahrir Council in Wilayah Sudan, accompanied by Engineer Banqa Hamid and Professor Muhammad Saeed Boukeh, members of Hizb ut-Tahrir.

The delegation met with:

Professor Khalid Hussein - Head of the Democratic Unionist Party, Jalaa Al-Azhari wing.

Dr. Abdullah Youssef Abu Seil - Lawyer and Professor of Law at universities.

Sheikh Abdul Rahim Jouda - From the Ansar al-Sunna group.

Mr. Ahmed Muhammad - Suna News Agency correspondent.

The meetings touched on the topic of the hour; the fall of Al-Fashir and the accompanying crimes of the militia against the people of the city, and the betrayal of the army leaders, who did not fulfill their duty towards the people of Al-Fashir and lift the siege on them, while they were capable of doing so throughout the period of the siege, and the repeated attacks on them, more than 266 attacks.

Then the delegation handed them a copy of the publication of Hizb ut-Tahrir/ Wilayah Sudan entitled: "The fall of Al-Fashir opens the way for America's plan to carve out the Darfur region and concentrate its influence in Sudan. How long will we be fuel for the international conflict?!" Their reactions were excellent and they called for the continuation of these meetings.

===

"Phoenix Express 2025" Exercises

A Chapter in Tunisia's Submission to American Hegemony

Tunisia's preparation to host the new version of the multilateral naval exercise "Phoenix Express 2025" during the month of November comes, which is the exercise that the US Africa Command has become organizing annually after the regime in Tunisia involved the country by signing with America, on 2020/09/30, a military cooperation agreement, which US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper described as a roadmap that lasts for ten years.

In this regard, a press statement by Hizb ut-Tahrir / Wilayah Tunisia reminded that the party clarified when this dangerous agreement was signed that the matter goes beyond traditional agreements, as America is drawing up a huge project that requires 10 full years to complete, and that the roadmap, according to America's claim, is related to border control, port protection, combating extremist ideology, and confronting Russia and China, and this means, with all impudence, a diminution of Tunisia's sovereignty, but rather it is direct tutelage over our country.

The statement affirmed that Hizb ut-Tahrir in Wilayah Tunisia, despite the harassment, arrests, and military trials that our youth are subjected to as a result of their speaking out with the word of truth, reaffirms its call to dissolve this ominous colonial agreement that is intended to drag the country and the entire Islamic Maghreb and adapt them to the malicious American policies, and also repeated its appeal to the people of power and strength in Tunisia and all Muslim countries to pay attention to what the enemies of the Ummah are plotting against them and luring them to, and that the Shariah duty requires them to support their religion and repel the enemy lurking in their countries and their Ummah, and to exalt the word of God by supporting those who work to implement His Shariah and establish His state, the Second Khilafah Rashidah according to the method of Prophethood promised soon, God willing.

===

America's Disdain for Its Citizens

Leaves Women and Children Hungry

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federal program that helps low-income individuals and families and people with disabilities obtain electronic benefits that are used to purchase food and beverages, except for alcohol, and plants to grow their own food. Reports indicate that 42 million Americans rely on SNAP benefits to feed themselves and their families. 54% of adults who receive food assistance are women, most of whom are single mothers, and 39% are children, meaning that nearly one in five children relies on these benefits to ensure they don't go hungry. The federal shutdown also forced some states to find other ways to fund free and reduced-price food programs in their educational areas, so that children who rely on food during the school day would not have to live without food. As a result, the many food banks spread throughout the country post pictures of empty shelves and ask people to donate food and grocery store gift cards to meet the increasing demand for food.

Accordingly, the Women's Section in the Central Media Office of Hizb ut-Tahrir said in a press statement: We may ask how can the richest country in the world ignore the fact that millions of its most vulnerable citizens will not find enough food? You may wonder where America spends its money, even during the shutdown? Well, instead of ensuring that Americans get enough food, they send billions of dollars to the Jewish entity to kill Palestinians. He is a ruler who sees building a luxurious celebration hall as more important than anything else, while other deputies find that their personal investments are given priority over the well-being of the people they are supposed to represent! As you can see, capitalist America has never been interested in caring for the affairs of its citizens, but was only interested in providing military and financial support to those who deprive children around the world of their right to security, food, shelter, and education, which are basic necessities. Therefore, it leaves children in America also suffering from hunger and insecurity, and lacking adequate education and health care.

===

"Every Muslim is inviolable to another Muslim: his blood, his wealth, and his honor."

To every Muslim, to every officer, soldier, and policeman, to everyone who owns a weapon: God Almighty has granted us reason to think with, and obligated us to use it correctly, so one should not act, perform any action, or utter any statement before knowing its Shariah ruling. Knowing the Shariah ruling requires understanding the reality to which the Shariah ruling is to be applied, so the Muslim must enjoy political awareness, so that he perceives matters as they really are, and is not carried away by the plans of the colonizing disbelievers who do not want good for us or for Islam, and who strive with all their might, cunning, and ingenuity to tear us apart, control our countries, and plunder our capabilities and wealth. How can a Muslim accept to be a tool in the hands of those colonizing disbelievers, or an executor of the orders of their agents?! Does he covet a little of the fleeting pleasures of this world, so he loses his Hereafter and is among the people of the Fire, abiding therein forever, cursed and expelled from the mercy of God? Does a Muslim accept to please any of the created, helpless humans while angering God Almighty, in whose hand is this world and the Hereafter?!

Hizb ut-Tahrir calls you to raise the level of political awareness, adhere to the rulings of God Almighty, and work with it to rule according to what God has revealed, so that it removes the hands of the colonizing disbelievers and their agents from you, and thwarts their plans in our countries.

===

You Are the Ones Who Starved the Muslims

O Masoud Pezeshkian!

Under this title, the Central Media Office of Hizb ut-Tahrir said in a press statement: Iran has announced the bankruptcy of the largest private bank in it, which is (Ayandeh) Bank, and this bank has 270 branches in Iran, after the debts on it increased to five billion dollars. What is surprising in the matter is the criticism of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian for administrative failure, saying: "We have oil and gas, but we are hungry"!

The statement affirmed: The person responsible for that administrative failure that the Iranian president is talking about is the president himself, so why is the Iranian people hungry - O Masoud Pezeshkian - and you have oil, gas, and other wealth and minerals? Is it not a result of your foolish policies? Is it not due to your distance from ruling by Islam? The same can be said about the rest of the Muslim countries. The foolish rulers in them squander the Ummah's huge wealth, enable the colonizing disbelievers to access it, and deprive the Ummah of that wealth, then one of them comes to justify the reason for the hunger by saying that it is an administrative failure!

In conclusion, the press statement addressed the Muslims: The foolishness of these rulers who are in charge of your affairs has become clear to every sighted person, and they are not worthy of taking charge of it. It is time for you to restrain them, for this is the ruling of the fool; preventing him from disposing of money and restraining him, and pledge allegiance to one Khaleefah who rules you with the Shariah of God Almighty, and cancels the riba system in your countries so that your Lord Almighty and His Messenger ﷺ will be pleased with you, and restores your plundered wealth, and restores your dignity and honor. Here is Hizb ut-Tahrir, the pioneer whose people do not lie, calling you to work with it to establish the Second Khilafah Rashidah according to the method of Prophethood.

===

To the Sincere Descendants of the Ottoman Heroes

We ask the sincere descendants of the Ottoman heroes: What happened, O great army?! What is this humiliation and weakness?! Is it due to a lack of equipment and supplies?! How can this be, when you are the strongest army in the Middle East? And you rank eighth among the strongest armies in the world, while the Jewish entity ranks eleventh. That is, you are ahead of it in all respects, so how can you accept humiliation?!

The Jihadi army may lose a battle, but it will not lose a war; because the determination that ignited its leaders and soldiers is the same determination that created Badr, Hunayn, and Yarmouk, it is the same determination that opened Andalusia and made Muhammad al-Fatih determined to conquer Constantinople. And it is the same determination that will liberate Al-Aqsa and restore things to their rightful place.

We affirm that the national military doctrine has been lost and not preserved. It is a doctrine of weakness and failure, which diminishes the prestige of the army because it does not open the door to fighting in the way of God. It is a doctrine that made the military a job to receive a salary, so conscription became a heavy burden on the hearts of young people, who avoid it. It is a doctrine that made military ranks for boasting, so the army was emptied of its true meaning.

We in Hizb ut-Tahrir call on our sons in the Turkish army not to continue abandoning Jihad and not to support the Muslims who are crying out for their help; because that is an evil, and what an evil... So do not abandon the pinnacle of this religion until you win in both worlds.

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Trump's Attack on the Democrats

A Coup Against Democracy and an Exposure of Its Falsehood

(Al Jazeera Net, Wednesday, Jumada Al-Akhira 14, 1447 AH, 2025/11/5AD) US President Donald Trump launched a series of sharp statements, criticizing the performance of the Democrats, the voting system, immigration policies, and the government shutdown, stressing that the time has come for the Republicans to take decisive steps (Al Jazeera Network).

Ar-Raya: Since Donald Trump's rise to the American political scene, the world has witnessed a wide debate about the nature of his speech and his style in dealing with his political opponents. Between those who see him as a reformer who wants to restore America to its "lost greatness," and those who consider him a direct threat to the values of democracy, the most important question remains: Is Trump's continuous attack on the Democratic Party merely a normal political conflict, or is it in its essence a coup against American democracy itself?

Trump's attack on the Democrats comes as an internal explosion in the heart of the American system, as it exposes the real conflict between the elite class that controls the joints of the state, and the American people who feel that their voice is no longer effective in the political decision.

Trump's attack on the Democrats, although it seems like a rebellion against American political norms, is in fact a mirror that reflects the crisis of Western democracy itself. It is not only a coup against democracy, but an exposure of its falsehood, and that it is a dead person waiting for the Khilafah state to announce its death and bury it soon, God willing. Our responsibility is to be certain that the path to renaissance is not by imitating